Heritage Singer

I'm home removing a collapsing ceiling and redoing the 2nd floor of my moms home.

We just finished going thru 10 decades worth of stuff and found some pretty amazing finds, old records, pictures i've never seen of my great/great great grandparents, old poetry and drawings by my brother and i, and LOADS of dust. Cough Cough. Above is such a find! The gent on the bottom right is my great grandfather Carr on my mothers side. My Papa was going to name my middle name after his but in France it doesn't show up as a Catholic name, so i got stuck with Gabriel. The crazy thing is that i look a lot like my great grand father, eyes & ears, and something cool about this photo is that from what we think, its a picture taken after their baptism and the scrolls in their hands is the certificate.

This picture has been on my grandmothers piano downstairs since we found it and today i just sat down at the piano and started writing a song while looking at it. It's funny the things that will inspire you, and today a piece of my heritage has touched me. The song in progress is called "Giving Shoulders" and its a piano song in the vein of the era i believe with a tip of the hat to Gershwin/brazil/and my grandma Mary Lou Carr. I hope it will be a GV song in the near future, we already have one called Mary Lou! hehehe..

Growl

I may have posted about this record before, in fact i'm sure i have.

On a 9 hour drive thru the night crossing from Utah to Idaho i played this album from beginning to end and since have played thru this album every other day since. I like every song on this record a lot. I think its flawless from their high intensity rock 'n roll to the 2 guitar ballad picking instrumental. Dave's vocals are always convicting in their fierce delivery and in their falsetto. I feel like there aren't many rock bands anymore genuinely producing quality both in tune and message. Rock n' Roll to me is about digging into life even by your finger nails if need be, and examining the joys & anguish that comes from maturing. I also think that Rock n' Roll is a prophet of the times in a way cuz it's used to speak up, talk about justice, point out societal needs, cast light on corruptness, and does so in a melodic and sometimes brutal way. It's not always pretty, but fruitful. This kinda sounds like i'm canonizing Rock n' Roll, for me at least, it has kept me conscious about the world around me and aided to the fanning of the flame when i touch a guitar.

I can think of a couple other bands i would consider rock n' roll that are currently playing: B.R.M.C, Raconteurs, Delta Spirit, Black Keys, The Strokes, Thrice. They may bleed into some other genres, but at the core their roots are plugged into a socket. I think blues is the same way, its honesty and that's why I like Rock n' Roll as well.

Gold In Them Hills

I stumbled on this myspace site of a legend favorite of mine Steven Delopoulos. He's greek orthodox and has a fire in his guitar that is fanned by his gifted fingers. Theres songs here i've never heard and DLISH, so go now, check out :D some of the song titles:

Dark City
Buried Child
Crucify the Soul
Do What You Gonna Do

CLICK HERE AND ENJOY

Tune In

NEW ALBUMS I SHOULD LIKE TO OWN,
YOU WILL BE MINE, OH YES YOU WILL BE MINE:

yeah yeah yeahs
decemberists
dan auerbach
department of eagles
andrew bird



ABLUMS IN THE WORKS THAT I'M JAZZED ABOUT:

B.R.M.C
Switchfoot
Sondre Lerche
The Denoument
The Dead Weather
Lupe Fiasco
WILCO

ya dig?

Lacoste: My First Love

SEE MORE at Le Grand Cru

He is Patient & Long Suffering

6 chambers will loosen your tongue
and put fire in your step when the cold steel
is put to your temple

the alarm will shake the stiffness
out of the muscles that haven't been
stressed or inspired for years

danger for the first time will give
you the burn in your lungs that comes
from taking in a full breath

scales will fall from your eyes
like feathers when you ascend into
your calling

trust has always been your only option
the only light given and needed for the very next step

Jesus my only certainty & liberation

SAN the FRAN

Family Portrait

We only have 6 more shows i think in the next 8 days. We've been guest appearing on each others songs and enjoying each others company a lot! David and Ben aren't in this picture but they are equally family now as well. It's been said several times how unusual it is for us all to be getting along so well and I think its due to the number of people and the diversity that comes with it. It keeps things fresh, a lot of different seating arrangements in the van, a lot of different conversations. Its been super good. There has been several shows now that people have been asking 'when are you guys going to do a record together?' and i think that would be something very natural to happen after this bonding on so many levels. The only thing would be time and money, the things that are common for all of us no matter what our profession is. Some great things have been developing on this tour and talks of another tour are happening now!